A literary whodunit set in an unreliable 1962, The Suspension Bridge takes place in a Canadian river city dreaming of fame as it sets about building the world's biggest bridge. The newly-arrived Sister Harriet navigates a chaotic first year at upscale Saint Reginald's Academy, where the mysterious disappearance of boarding students complicates her ongoing identity crisis. The sinister bridge is meant to usher in a new era for Bothonville (pronounced Buttonville), but the inner lives of several characters, including Harriet's, fall victim to its supernatural influence. Part comic allegory and part fairy tale, The Suspension Bridge takes the reader, with dark humour and occasional sympathy, into a midair world of bridges of many sorts, that don't always hold up as well as they promise. Anna Dowdall delivers the shivers. Oh, and if you hear a corpulent slithering sound, that will be Alfred Hitchcock stirring in his grave because he didn't live long enough to film this quality novel. Yes, it's that good. -Alan Bradley, NYT bestselling author
